Delhi: Gaps in Government’s E-Ration Scheme Deprives Poor of Food

Two days ago, Firoj, a migrant labourer, received an e-coupon from the Delhi government but it has not enabled him to collect his ration. Firoj said that he was asked to queue up with others inside the government school with his e-coupon but as soon as his number came, he learned that stocks had run out.

"The e-Coupon came almost 10 days after I had filled the form. Now, when I have an e-coupon, they do not have ration. It has been two days and I hear is that the ration is less or that it is over,” he said.

Firoj is surviving on lentils and rice given to him by relief workers. "People with goodwill came by and gave us some raw essentials. However, the lentils and rice will be over by today. From tomorrow, I will have to go out in search of food," he added.

Addressing the food scarcity among the poor of Delhi, CM Arvind Kejriwal had assured that food will be made available to workers even without ration cards. "Such people will have to apply online and on that basis the government will provide them ration," he had said.

The decision to introduce a website-based ration scheme has come under question, with activists calling it “unreasonable”. Daily wagers who lack smartphones and have no access to internet, have a question: How would they apply online? Many workers told NewsClick that even those who had applied online with the help of others, have not received their e-Coupons as yet.

“We had written to the Delhi government about how unreasonable the e-Coupon scheme is,” said Ayesha, a coordinator from the Right To Food Campaign. She said that the government is targeting a section of people with no access to smartphones and the internet, and despite having been fore-warned, “we did not get any response. There are technical glitches and we have seen cases where labourers, even with e-Coupons, are not getting food. And the cooked food that they are receiving is not only of poor quality but also insufficient too,” she added.

Asma, a labourer from Sangam Vihar, has a story similar to the one Firoj told. It has been 15 days and she has not yet received the message with the OTP yet. “I had to give Rs 50 to a shop near by to get an e-Coupon. I was told I would receive an OTP or a message after which I will be able to get ration. It has been 15 days since then," Asma told NewsClick.

Those like Asma are also forced to make do with the quality of food on offer. “Every day we queue up inside government schools to receive poor quality rice and dal. The rice stinks but we have no other option but to eat,” she said.

Rikta Krishnaswamy, an activist who has been active in relief work, told NewsClick that since a majority of daily wage labourers and migrant workers do not have smartphones, it is difficult to point them to Google Map links. “We have been diverting them to schools where they can get cooked food. But movement is also very restricted. Workers have to walk close to 2 kms daily to get food and there are times when the cooked food is over. The temporary e-ration card portal that the AAP government has put up has a lot of functional issues. Many are not getting OTPs. Even hunger helplines are not toll free,” she added.

With the lockdown extended till May 3, labourers – migrant and otherwise – find themselves on precarious ground with no ration and a faulty ‘Free Ration Scheme'.

Rikta mentioned that the website itself poses hurdles to get access, and one with no internet literacy cannot get by on their own. At the very outset, the website asks for an OTP-based login by submitting a phone number. “There are many who have not received their OTPs yet,” she added.

Trade unions across India have also played a major role in providing relief to the labourers. In Delhi, independent relief workers and trade unionists are helping labourers with e-Coupons and ration. “We have been helping labourers with e-ration cards and raw food supply. Over the last few days, we helped between 600 and 700 workers to get an e-Ration card," said Virender Gaud, President of the Delhi unit of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

On the problems faced by workers are facing due to the e-Ration scheme, Gaud said that workers are not getting access to ration even after getting confirmation on their phone. “The Delhi government should adopt door-step delivery. Only that will result in some relief,” he added.

The nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Modi on March 24 resulted a migration of the poor to their hometowns. A compensatory relief package was announced but it did not convince labourers who seemed to have no faith left in the government.

It is when the Delhi CM assured that he would not let anyone in Delhi suffer from hunger. “I want to assure you that we would not let anyone in Delhi suffer from hunger,” he had said in a press conference, on April 4. However, a faulty online ration scheme has rendered many labourers helpless and starving.

Amrita Johri of the Right to Food Campaign said that the government is not releasing data on how many e-Coupons have been generated. “How many labourers have been given food? There is no information on the website," she said.

Sources within the Delhi government told NewsClick that they have not received any complaint as yet. “We cannot give ration to 30 lakh people in one go. e-Ration is based on availibility. We have already provided ration to 71 lakh people with ration cards. Now, we are working on providing ration to those without cards. If the internet was a problem, how did they apply?” asked someone close to the CM.

Samir, an activist, said however that this was done despite “knowing that the internet is not accessible to the poorer sections of society. No alternate way was provided to help them get access to food.”

Meanwhile, Firoj along with several others, regret their decision of staying back in Delhi. On March 29, labourers were seen huddled together at Anand Vihar bus stop owing to lack of food and jobs. “We appreciate the intention behind the lockdown but in such a food crisis we will die," said Firoj.